Angles

I was away at the weekend with friends, on a stag. The main attraction himself, as well as the best man, are big fans of craft beer, so we were all encouraged to bring along some tasty brews to drink and share. Most people obliged, so the canal boat we had hired was low in the water with hoppy treats and unusual brews. At least it was on the Friday. By Sunday the boat was sitting higher on the river. Ironic, considering that I felt less than buoyant myself by that point.

It was fantastic to be able to enjoy so many tasty treats in such a small period of time; like being the proverbial kid in a sweet shop. It was easy to imagine that this was this was how the state of play should be; lots of tasty beers, easily available and enjoyed with friends.

Unfortunately this isn't always the case. A recent post by the excellent Boak and Bailey regarding an interview with James Watt of BrewDog fame illustrated the point that only 1 in 2700 beers drunk in the UK is a craft beer. The big boys such as Stella, Heineken etc are still massively dominating the beer market in this country.

"Boo! Down with bland lager!" we cry and suck down a hoppy American Pale Ale. Wouldn't it be better if more people drunk better beer? James at BrewDog certainly thinks so and wants to encourage this. But of course he does, he sells the better beer! What about the people who drink it though. What about you and me?

For a while now craft has been a little exclusive. It is more expensive due to the smaller economies of scale and higher quality of ingredients. Craft is also harder to get hold of and less promoted and advertised than what the big boys can offer. Craft is also more complicated. How do you know what styles you might like until you try? And why try craft if generic lager is cheaper and easily identified? It's not easy to get into something you know nothing about.

My take is that if more people get into craft beer then more craft beer will be made. If more is made then prices may drop, or at least stop increasing so quickly, and it will be easier to find decent beer. So basically, we need more craft beer drinkers and then we might just get more craft beers.

So, if you know someone who has never tried craft beer, buy them one. Explain why you like it. Ask them if they would like another. Ask them why they like it. Suggest other beers they might like. You might just be helping everyone do better out of craft that way; brewers, consumers, you, me, the whole lot. And that has to be worth raising a glass to.